Putin in fresh attack on US over Georgia
Sunday, 31 August 2008
MOSCOW, Aug 30 (AFP): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made fresh accusations of US involvement in the Georgia conflict and rejected suggestions Moscow could target Ukraine next, in an interview aired Saturday.
The powerful former Kremlin leader urged the European Union to refrain from imposing sanctions against Russia when it meets for an emergency summit Monday.
A transcript of the interview to Germany's ARD television was released by the Russian government Saturday and excerpts were broadcast on Russian television.
Putin spoke after Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with Russia Friday, three days after Moscow formally recognised the independence of two Georgian secessionist regions.
"We know there were many US advisers there," Putin said, reiterating remarks he had made in a previous interview to CNN.
"But these instructors, teachers in a general sense, personnel who trained others to work on the supplied military equipment, are supposed to be in training centers and where were they? In the military operations zone," he said.
"Why did the senior US leadership allow their citizens to be present there when they had no right to be in the security zone? And if they allowed it, I begin to suspect that it was done intentionally to organise a small victorious war.
The powerful former Kremlin leader urged the European Union to refrain from imposing sanctions against Russia when it meets for an emergency summit Monday.
A transcript of the interview to Germany's ARD television was released by the Russian government Saturday and excerpts were broadcast on Russian television.
Putin spoke after Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with Russia Friday, three days after Moscow formally recognised the independence of two Georgian secessionist regions.
"We know there were many US advisers there," Putin said, reiterating remarks he had made in a previous interview to CNN.
"But these instructors, teachers in a general sense, personnel who trained others to work on the supplied military equipment, are supposed to be in training centers and where were they? In the military operations zone," he said.
"Why did the senior US leadership allow their citizens to be present there when they had no right to be in the security zone? And if they allowed it, I begin to suspect that it was done intentionally to organise a small victorious war.